My boat has been laid up for most of the winter and the cover has just come off. I want to give the batteries a charge but they are concealed in the depths of the console. I have to unscrew the console and tip it back to gain access. My question is can I go to the engine and connect the battery charger to the power leads there? There are 2 batteries each with an isolators and a third linking isolator and if I switch these on it should connect the cables on the engine to the batteries. Will I do any damage to the engine? The engine is a 1990s yamaha 175 2 stroke.
If you know which wires they are and polarity disconnect and yes charge from there then you won't have any probs it shouldn't hurt anyway but makes sure.
Seems to me that, when running, the batteries are seeing 14.5 or so volts. Chargers generally run 13.5 to 14 with a load, as I recall. Batteries (and connected electronic switches) shouldn't see any difference whatsoever.
Just a quick update to say that this process went off fine. I would like to stress that it worked on MY engine and set-up but its not to say it will be advisable for every set-up
Just as a side,,,over the winter, I connected a 20w solar panel through my external power connecter, this year I didn't have to buy a new battery, and it was well charged, and ready for use.
spy-sea-one
